Hollow metallic last



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEoE.

SYLVANUS H. VVHORF, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOLLOW METALLIC LAST.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 18,310, dated September 29, 1857.

To all whom. t may concern.'

Be it known that I, SYLvANUs H. VVHOEF, of Malden, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mechanism for Lasting Shoes and Applying Soles Thereto; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying` drawings, of which- Figure 1, is a side View of a hollow steam last furnished with my invention. Fig. 2, is a longitudinal section of the same.

The process in which'my improvement or improvements have particular reference is that relating to the application of soles to boots or shoes by means of pressure and gutta percha or other cement, such process having been the subject of Letters Patent of the United States of America granted to myself and Charles Rice on the 1th day of March A. D. 1836. In the performance of such process a last constructed of metal and provided with a chamber and pipe or other equivalent means of introducing steam or heat into the last has to be employed.

Vhile a shoe is on the hollow last, and the outer sole, properly prepared with gutta percha or other suitable cement, to be melted by heat, is placed on the inner sole of the shoe, the last is to be heated so as to soften the cement, and while the cement is soft or in a sticky state, pressure by means of a press or platen connected with the last is to be applied to the sole, so as to force it closely down upon and fix it to the shoe. The heat and pressure combined serve not only in facilitating the fixation of the sole, but in iinishing or smoothing the upper and the sole.

A last such as is employed in the above mentioned process is represented at A, in the accompanying drawings, the steam chamber thereof being shown at a.

My invention relates to rendering the last adaptable to lasting and finishing shoes varying in size both in the upper and sole. For this purpose, I apply to the last a spring instep C, fixed to the last at or near the toe thereof, the other end of the spring being separate from the last in order that the movable spring instep or instep spring may spring toward the last and fit itself to a shoe, when the latter is drawn on the last, the spring instep serving to draw the shoe firmly or closely down to the sole of the last, whateverl may be the size of the upper.

In case the sole of the shoe may be larger vdistance up the sides, heel and toe of the lastas shown in the drawings, the extension of the sides being as far or about as far as the counter and foxing are usually carried.

The sole cap is to be made in its external width and shape of the size required to enable it with the supporting last to operate as a last of the proper form and dimensions for the shoe to be lasted. Therefore it will be seen that with the adjustable spring instep and either the sole of a last or a sole cap applied as described, the last can be used for applying soles to shoes, which mayvary in the size of their uppers. The particular advantage of such is that we are saved the necessity of a hollow heating last for each size of shoe, one last furnished with such devices suflicing for more than one size or for shoes varying in size as described. This as a matter of course effects a convenience in operation, an economy in time and a saving of cost in the manufacture of shoes by the process above named.

I do not herein claim such process, but confine my invention to the improvements as described.

I am aware of the invention of John Whistler patented April 24th 1849; I am also aware of that patented by Jonathan Russell July 7th 1846, both of such inventions being for the purpose of stretching boots and shoes, and containing mechanism entirely different in action and construction from that applied to a hollow last or one heated by steam as hereinbefore described; for the yielding or spring instep which I combine with the last operates automatically to adapt itself and the last to a shoe when placed upon them, whereas in all the contrivances of the said IVhistler and Russell, screws or other devices of like nature are used for moving and adjusting the movable instep with respect to the remainder of the last. Furthermore, the metallic sole tap, as applied by me to the last, differs entirely from the movable sole piece which is hinged to the last and operated by a screw as shown in said Russells specification, for my sole piece is separate and distinct from the sole of the last, and is applied to it so as to eX tend up the sides of the last and the heel and around the toe so as to increase the size of the last both on its sole and its sides7 as Well as its toe and heel. Therefore I do not claim a stretching last or boot trees of the said Whistler and Russell, nor do I claim applying a plate of leather or other material to the sole of a last for the purpose of enlarging such last.

In the above description I have shown how my improved last as provided With the yielding or spring instep could be used when increased in size by the application of a metallic sole cap. I do not however claim such sole cap. But- I claim making a last With the yielding or spring instep applied to operate substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my signature this eighth day of July A. D.

SYLVANUS H. WHORF. IVitnesses l R. I-I. EDDY, F. R. HALE, J r. 

